$2.3M restoration of Frick's Lock Village unveiled

EAST COVENTRY — In its heyday, Frick’s Lock Village was one of dozens of stops along the Schuylkill Navigation for coal making its way from the coal regions and the river’s headwaters to energy-starved industrial cities like Philadelphia.

But it lost its economic lustre when the railroads took over the job of carrying the coal and it slipped from public view entirely in 1969, when it was purchased by PECO as part of the construction of the Limerick nuclear plant.

But it never slipped entirely from memory, at least not for people like Bill Carl, who lived in the former locktender’s house in the late 1930s, when it had no electricity and no plumbing.

“We rented this from the Reading Railroad Co. for $5 a month,” he said.

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He wasn’t alone in coming home Friday when the $2.3 million restoration of the nationally recognized historic site was officially unveiled.

Also on hand were four sisters, Rebekah and Priscilla Elliott, both of whom will be volunteer tour guides when the site opens for public tours two weekends a month later in the year.

Their sisters, Nancy Fisher and Penny Elliott-Morton, also showed up and chatted with Carl about old times, and who lived where and when.

The story of Frick’s Lock Village was not always as bright as it seemed in the sunny morning light Friday.

In the years that followed PECO’s purchase, the property, which is within the power plant’s “exclusion zone” and cannot be occupied, deteriorated severely.

It developed a reputation for being haunted and became an attractive nuisance for teen drinking parties, ATVs and, ultimately, vandals.

In 2008, the locktender’s house, which was built in 1824, caught fire and, perhaps as a result, the determination to preserve the site gained momentum.

The township had been interested in restoring the site since 2001 and two years later, with permission from Exelon, PECO’s successor company, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A committee representing nine “stakeholders” was formed and through many meetings, occasionally fraught with tension and disagreements if the comments made at Friday’s ceremony are any indication, a plan was hammered out and signed in 2011 through which Exelon agreed to rehabilitate the exteriors of nine of the buildings and protect them from vandalism with a fence; and lease four buildings outside the boundary to the township.

The East Coventry Historical Commission will determine the frequency of the guided tours.

When construction of the Schuylkill River Trail, which will stretch from Philadelphia to Pottsville, reaches the vicinity of the village, it will pass right alongside.

Tim Fenchel, an official with the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area, which gave a $13,000 “stabilization grant” in 1997 to keep the property from deteriorating further, said Frick’s Lock Village will be a popular stop for those using the Schuylkill River Trail.

Various portions are already done and the portion between Parker Ford and Pottstown, which is where Frick’s Lock is located, is the only section yet to be built in Chester County.

“It’s a trail that will be tied to the downtowns, the river towns, Phoenixville, Conshohocken, Norristown and Pottstown, the river towns, and the trail really will serve as an economic driver for these communities,” said Fenchel.

“Over the door at the National Archives Building is a sign that says ‘Past is prologue,’” U.S. Congressman Jim Gerlach, R-6th Dist., told the crowd gathered to celebrate the completion of the project, “and if that’s true, Frick’s Lock Village will soon be a thriving place once again.”

The speakers were many, including state and township officials, elected officials, executives from Exelon and Larry Frick, whose father Paul Sumner Frick, was among those whose historical research helped put the 14-acre site on the historic register and who wrote a book about the site’s history titled, appropriately, “History of Frick’s Lock, Part 1.”

Unfortunately said his son, who traveled from California in his ill father’s stead, part two may not be written.

“This is literally my father’s dream to see it restored and protected the way it is, so this just absolutely makes me happy, I love this,” he told a reporter.

Leonard Shaner Jr., a local historian who said he too helped put the village on the National Register, said Frick’s Lock is home to Chester County’s oldest house, built in 1752.

Frick’s Lock Village got its name from the two locks on the Schuylkill Navigation System, an ambitious system of canals, locks and open river that ferried goods, mostly coal, from the river’s upper reaches in the coal regions to Philadelphia and the world.

The most completely restored portion of the system is just down the river from Frick’s Lock in Mont Clare, where Lock 60 still works and a small section of the canal still has water.

About 1,400 boats passed through the two Frick’s Locks each year, carrying about 1.7 million tons of goods, mostly coal but also agricultural goods, which worked out to about eight boats per day.

“The canal was like a super highway of its time,” Shaner said.

The property was originally a farmstead owned by John Frick and the navigation company purchased the rights to build the canal and lock in 1821. The two locks opened in 1824 and stayed open for the next 30 years.

The canal closed entirely in 1930.

“This was a big project for Exelon,” said Jeannie Liggett, who works in Exelon’s government affairs office and was among those who attended the many long meetings necessary to bring the project to fruition.

“You taught a nuclear power company how to do historic restoration,” she told the crowd. “I don’t think that’s ever been done before.”

“To find $2 million for historic preservation is a Godsend in this era,” observed state Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-19th Dist., who brought his dog Henry along to enjoy the day.

“Just think. In five, 10, 50 years from now, if all goes well, 100 years from now, people can visit this place and know what life was like 200 years ago,” Dinniman said.

Township Supervisors’ Chairman Ray Kolb and Supervisor Michael Moyer both said the restoration is a boon for the township “and I really think we have to offer our gratitude to the historical commission,” said Moyer.

Boyertown carpenter Phil Diltz was among the many tradesmen who worked on the restoration and he came back Friday morning to take a quiet look at his handiwork.

He said he was amazed at the craftsmanship they found when they began to open up walls and ceilings to restore the buildings.

“They were some real craftsmen there, they did things the old way,” Diltz said.

And although he said he felt humbled by the skill of those who had gone before, apparently the work he and his co-workers did was noteworthy.

The project was selected to receive a 2013 Preservation Achievement Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

But as good as they were, nature has a way of trying to take back what once belonged to nature.

Standing in front of the “Manor House,” which was built in 1821, Diltz chuckled and said “when we took the roof off to replace it, we were amazed to see how the raccoons had had their way in there for quite a while.”

For the next few years it seems, those raccoons are going to have to find other lodgings as it will now be the visitors and residents who get to enjoy those buildings.

About the Author

Evan Brandt has worked for The Mercury since November 1997. His beat includes Pottstown, the surrounding townships and the Pottstown and Pottsgrove school districts, as well as other varied general topics like politics, the environment and education. Reach the author at ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
or follow Evan on Twitter: @PottstownNews.